Whereabouts

State

Heaven, also called The Attic, The Penthouse, Paradise, or even Upstairs, is an ageless, ethereal, holy realm created by God, intended to be the home-realm of both himself and his angels. It serves as a dwelling place and a base of operations for all angels, and is a final resting place of worthy human souls.

Recently Metatron's spell rendered Heaven locked, expelling all celestial beings, except himself.[1] As a result, Reapers were no longer able to take worthy human souls to their final destination and souls who were not damned to Hell, were left at the spot of their deaths in The Veil. However, when Metatron was defeated and stripped of his connection to the Angel Tablet, Heaven was restored. This is made evident when Amelia Novak is seen reuniting with her husband Jimmy after she died.

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In its history, Heaven has had two civil wars. The first was when Lucifer became jealous and angry of the creation of mankind and, subsequently, led a rebellion against God. The second was between Castiel and Raphael after the aversion of the Apocalypse. Raphael had wanted to restart it by freeing Michael and Lucifer while Castiel fought to prevent it. God resided in Heaven with his angels until his departure sometime in the distant past. In God's absence, the archangel Michael led the angelic Host and directed the affairs of Heaven. Raphael was also an authority.

Castiel visits an autistic man's Heaven.

The appearance of angels in Heaven is not necessarily human, though they usually stay in their vessel, as it isn't always easy to find a suitable vessel for angels. For example, Zachariah says that in Heaven, he has six wings and four faces. Angels draw some of their powers - demonic exorcism, healing, time travel, and resurrection - from Heaven. Those who fall and are "cut-off" from Heaven are weakened and are not allowed to return on their own - the only exception to this are Archangels and Seraphs. . It is still possible for the banished to communicate with Heaven; Anna can hear other angels speaking, even without her grace. Castiel is able to communicate with Sam and Dean Winchester through a link to electronic equipment - such as a radio or TV - in their memories.

Heaven also serves as a destination for deserving human souls after death. They occupy the happy memories they experienced on Earth, reliving them in their personal Heavens. It is unknown how a human soul is allowed salvation in Heaven. Joshua suggests that it is on a case-by-case basis and can be God's decision; this is the case with Sam and Dean. Raphael says that if a person is devout enough, it can trump all sins (which is why the disgraced Enron executive Ken Lay got into Heaven).

Although supernatural in nature, it could be understood with sufficient scientific knowledge and/or technology, as demonstrated by Ash[2].

The Heaven that God originally created was an endless realm made up of each human's personal paradise. All of these different Heavens were combined into one realm, yet were separated from one another, so that each human would have their own individual domain. Angels are able to travel to any person's Heaven they choose, and can even alter it at will. There are also different sigils that humans can use which allow them to travel to the Heaven of another person. In each individualized Heaven, there is a road, or a representation of a road, which will lead them to the Garden (The center of Heaven).

After the civil war ended, and Heaven was rendered leaderless (due to the death of Raphael, and later Castiel) the Heavenly Host broke up into factions, and recreated the appearance of Heaven. Instead of an endless realm of individualized Heavens, the angels changed Heaven into a massive building like structure, which contained hallways consisting of doors for each person's Heaven. The angels are able to open any of these doors, allowing them to enter any Heaven they choose. There is also a hidden switch or compartment hidden in each Heaven, which, if pulled, will open that Heaven's door, allowing the soul to roam free in the general Heaven, but an alarm will active when that happens, as a soul is not allowed to be out his/her heaven. It seems each heaven is organized by the last name of the soul they belong. For example, there is a hallway only to every Robert "Bobby" Singer, including Bobby.

God created Heaven as a realm to house himself and his angels. This realm also served as a final resting place of souls deemed worthy.

Sam and Dean's perception of The Garden.

The center of Heaven is called The Garden (Zachariah refers to it as "Mission Control"), and, like the rest of the realms, each person sees it how they want to. The Garden can be reached by the Axis Mundi, which is often seen as a river or a road, depending on the person.

Most demons fear Heaven's inhabitants, God and his angels, and will flee from them on sight. Some of the more powerful demons like Alastair, can send angels back to Heaven, but only someone with an angel or archangel's sword, God, the Darkness, or Death, can kill an angel. Despite the fact that Uriel states that only an angel can kill another angel, Zachariah is killed with an Angel sword or dagger used by Dean.

According to Joshua, God is walking the Earth and is not interested in helping the Winchesters stop the Apocalypse. Since God's abandonment of Heaven, Michael is assumed to have taken command as his right as "Viceroy of Heaven" with some assistance from his younger brother, Raphael.

After Michael was trapped in Lucifer's Cage, Raphael took over, leading it like a dictatorship. When he announced his plans to free Michael and Lucifer and restart the Apocalypse, Castiel opposed him. This resulted in a civil war between Raphael's forces and Castiel's followers. The war ended when Castiel absorbed all the souls of Purgatory and destroyed Raphael and his followers. He then declared himself God and took control of Heaven. Castiel's first act was to eradicate all those angels who opposed him, thus effectively reducing Heaven's angelic population. However, he then disappeared and was presumed dead, and Heaven once again fell into disarray.

In the aftermath of Castiel's disappearance, Hester, who was once part of Castiel's garrison, took command of the remaining Angels. She was assisted by Inias, also an angel from Castiel's garrison. In the wake of Hester's death in Reading Is Fundamental, it is unclear who is now leading Heaven. It is possible that Inias is now in charge, as he is seen commanding the Angels to take the Prophet Kevin back home at the end of the episode.

It's revealed by Metatron that Heaven is currently at war, with multiple factions of angels fighting for supremacy, as without the Archangels and following Castiel's decimation of Raphael's followers there is no clear leader. Naomi is simply the leader of one such factions. Hence, Metatron initiates the plan to close Heaven off until things cool down and also so that the in-fighting doesn't spill onto Earth.

However, Naomi later reveals to Castiel, and Metatron later confirms, that his intent was not to seal Heaven, but to cast all angels out of it. Taking the ingredients Castiel had acquired (the nephilim's death and the cupid arrow) and Castiel's grace, Metatron casts a spell that causes all angels to permanently fall from Heaven.

Due to Metatron's spell, Heaven has been cleared by all angels except for the scribe. The spell also cleared out Heaven's prisons and dungeons, unleashing angels that were being held prisoners, such as Gadreel. The spell caused all of the angels wings to be burned off, so that they could not fly back to Heaven. The fall caused many of the angels to lose several of their powers, including teleportation. Despite this, however, they remained to be severely factionalized and warred among each other. Several of the fallen angels blame Metatron and Castiel for their fall. Because of this, Castiel became a target of the anger and vengeance of several fallen angels. With the closing of Heaven, and reapers losing their ability to travel there, every dead human soul not worthy of Hell, became stuck in the Veil, unable to go to Heaven.

Metatron would later begin to realize that Heaven felt empty, and so began a plan that would install him as the new God under the name 'X'. He recruited Gadreel as his ally, to which Gadreel agreed if he would be the second-in-command of the scribe. Metatron formulated plans and created hitlists for Gadreel to accomplish. One of the individuals the scribe wanted dead was the prophet Kevin Tran. Upon Gadreel's successful attempt, Metatron "flipped a switch" in Heaven, preventing the activation of the next prophet and thus effectively stopped the entire prophet line. Metatron eventually convinces all of the angels to unite under his leadership, having attained great power through the angel tablet. Using brainwashed suicide bombers, Metatron turns Castiel's followers against him and is able to unite the angels under his rule. However, his methods turn Gadreel against him and he works with Castiel and the Winchesters to stop Metatron. After Gadreel sacrificed himself to convince Hannah to help them, Castiel was able to shatter the angel tablet, reverting Metatron into a normal angel. Castiel then broadcast what Metatron said about his low opinion of humanity and angels to all angels, causing them to turn on Metatron. Metatron is then locked in Heaven's dungeon and Heaven is retaken. The angels turn to Castiel for leadership, but he denies the offer, saying that he wants to be a regular angel again.

Following Metatron's defeat, the angels began governing themselves with no set leader. According to Hannah in Black, there's a lot of meeting on rebuilding and reorganization and a lot of reconciliation between the factions that had developed when Heaven was closed. Metatron is permanently locked in Heaven's dungeon and Reapers are now able to travel freely into Heaven and bring the souls of those that died on Earth to their final resting place, having been prevented from doing so while Metatron was in charge. Following Metatron's defeat, Castiel returns to Earth due to his worsening health from his stolen grace and to help find Dean who had disappeared after Metatron killed him. Hannah recruits Castiel to locate angels who don't want to return to Heaven and get them to go back. Castiel is saved by Crowley with Adina's grace and Hannah eventually returns to Heaven to allow her vessel to resume a normal life. In order to try to find a way to get rid of the Mark of Cain, Castiel tries to enter Heaven to retrieve Metatron, believing that as the Scribe of God, he has the necessary knowledge. However, Hannah bars entry as Metatron would demand his freedom in exchange. To get Metatron, Sam and Castiel break into Heaven with the help of Bobby Singer to break Metatron out. Metatron is rendered human and tells them that he knows of no cure, but offers to lead Castiel to his grace instead. While searching for the grace, Metatron tells Castiel that under Hannah's leadership, Heaven is now in better shape than it has been since God left. He escapes with the demon tablet and is at large once more, though now human, with it though Castiel has regained his grace and rank as a Seraphim. Recently, Heaven's ancient enemy the Darkness has been released with the destruction of the Mark of Cain.

The angel Ezra revealed a sigil exists, that when drawn, will open a direct portal to Heaven. The portal is apparently in the image of Metatron's Cube, however it is unknown if Metatron or God made it in the first place. It is also unknown if you only need to draw the sigil to get the portal, or if there is an incantation, or a ritual. Fallen angels, who no longer have the ability to fly, used this door to return to Heaven under Metatron's leadership. Following Metatron's imprisonment, the gates remain closed, while the angels have reclaimed Heaven. The portal is currently the way in and out of Heaven and is located behind door number 42 in Heaven. It can be opened from the Heaven side by anyone by just opening the door. After Metatron's escape, the angels moved the portal's location. In The Future, it was revealed that any human that passes through the portal would have their body vaporized and their matter returned to the universe while their soul would ascend.

Heaven's Dungeon is a series of dungeons in a special part of Heaven that was created to imprison rebellious angels. Prisoners here endure horrendous torture and Anna stated that it was worse than Hell for angels. Metatron was imprisoned here after being overthrown. He was eventually broken out by Bobby Singer and Castiel in hopes of finding a way to cure the Mark of Cain and escapes (though human) before he can be returned. According to a comment by Metatron, the keys to the cells are kept in the prison area itself, not far from the cells.

The armies of Heaven are divided into several classes for different purposes. Warrior angels who served as foot soldiers were grouped in garrisons charged with specific tasks. Castiel's garrison, for example, was assigned to watch and protect the Earth. Each garrison is led by a Captain . Garrison Captains report to higher authorities, such as Zachariah, who in turn answer to the archangels themselves. In God's absence, the archangels are the highest order of authority in Heaven.

Garrisons can, to some extent, be compared with military special ops units. The lowest angels on the celestial chain are equivalent to Privates and Corporals. More powerful angels have ranks comparable to Sergeant, while a specialist like Uriel could be described as a Master Sergeant, aiding the lieutenants. Castiel eventually became the Captain of his Garrison. It is likely Anna Milton held that rank, before she fell. The highest-ranking officer of the garrison, usually the captain, reports to their superior, higher, more powerful angelic beings who rank as Colonels. They in turn report to the archangels; the generals. Raphael would probably rank as a Major General, or possibly a Lieutenant General, while Michael, the most powerful celestial would rank as a full, four-star General.

Naomi's office in another part of Heaven.

A secretarial division was described by Metatron, who was originally a part of the said group. Angels with higher organizational power belonged to other groups, such as the intelligence division of Naomi.

There is also a special class of angel called the Rit Zien, which, as Castiel described, function like medics, and whenever on battlefields, they tend to the wounded and heal those that can be healed.

There are angels, like Thaddeus, who are in charge of Heaven's dungeons, guarding angels and torturing them as punishment for their crimes and disobedience, just like Gadreel and Abner.

It should be noted that not all angels are warriors. Some have other tasks, such as being scribes (Metatron) and gardeners (Joshua).

Millennia ago, there was a special squad of angels known as the Grigori who served Heaven and were amongst the most elite angels. There were hundreds and they were among the first angels to walk the Earth. However, they were corrupted and believed wiped out millennia ago. Unknown to the angels, at least some survived, though how many is unknown and are currently feeding on human souls around the world. Their exact rank in Heaven before they Fell is unknown, but one was shown to be able to overpower a weakened Seraph.

Castiel speaks with A few of the Host of Heaven.

Heaven's hierarchy is extremely strict. All the angels are expected to obey orders from their superiors and the Archangels without question. Emotions are highly discouraged amongst angels, as many of the higher ranking angels see them as doorways to doubt. Disobedience or lack of faith is punishable by demotion, banishment, torture, and even death.

Heaven's hierarchy was completely undone as all angels but one were cast down to earth. The remaining angel, Metatron, planned to make himself the new god, with Gadreel as his second-in-command. Metatron was soon able to return all of the angels to Heaven under following his leadership. However, with the help of Gadreel, Sam, Dean and Castiel manage to overthrow him. Afterwards, Castiel refuses to lead Heaven again and Hannah later tells him that the angels have no set leader and are leading themselves. In contrast, Metatron indicates that Hannah herself is the new leader, telling Castiel that Heaven is run better than it has been since God left under Hannah's leadership. Either way, its clear that Hannah holds a high-ranking position in Heaven as she is able to bar Castiel from entering to get Metatron. Despite this, Castiel still commands a lot of respect as he was earlier able to get Ingrid to covertly bring him Metatron.

The angels conference room in Heaven.

Castiel's respect from his siblings however, began to deteriorate as Castiel failed to return Metatron to prison. They began to view him as Heaven's most wanted. Hannah managed to take charge of Heaven around this time, but her authority appeared limited and one of the angels decided to kill her off, though not without consequences. From then on, Heaven was forced to rely on collective work, and decisions tended to be made together. They briefly accepted command from an unnamed angel and Lucifer. The angels however, declare their loyalty is to God, but in God's absence they continue to work as a team. It is implied however, that without a proper leader the angels do struggle to maintain order, leading Joshua the gardener to take charge and direct the angels into dealing with Jack, the child of Lucifer.

Ash tells the brothers that Heaven is comprised of many places, like 100 billion individual Heavens. Dean then states that everyone gets a piece of paradise, thus hinting to that Heaven is infinite. This also means that religion is not an important deciding factor for who gets in to Heaven when they die.

Heaven's whereabouts and state of existence in Supernatural is unclear. It is indirectly implied to be part of the same universe as Earth, and characters frequently refer to it as being above Earth and/or in the sky; it has also been shown that when angels travel from Heaven to Earth through means other than teleportation (i.e., when they fall from Heaven) that they seem to fall to Earth from the sky. When Amara caused disturbances in Heaven, it was noticeable on Earth by strange effects in the sky.

It is the only other plane of existence that has been seen the most, going on at 5 seasons, with Hell at 3 and Purgatory 2.

The Door number 42 is a reference to Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and the answer 42 to the universe's most important question.

Since its introduction in Season 5, Season 12 is the only season to not feature Heaven.